Fast Facts

Verdict:
It’ll make everyone want a hammer

Super engine, quick gearbox, surprisingly refined, good handling

Jerky gear changes at low speeds, some extra tyre noise apparent

Having broke new ground with the C 63, AMG continues its run of talented new road burners

By Derryn Wong

AMG have been taking big-capacity engines tuned for high performance and dropping them into Mercedes-Benz cars since 1986. Its first model, a 300 E sedan came with a monstrous 5.5-litre engine, Ferrari beating performance and was codenamed, The Hammer.

Tracing the line of descendants bring us to the E 63 AMG – successor to the equally tyre-destroying E 55 AMG, which was a classic AMG in being a regular cruise missile, but not too pointable. The E 63 however, is quite a different sort of hammer.